Release-rigging.



G. GILPIN.

v RELEASE RIGGING. APPLICATION HLED DEC. 1?. 1915..

latented Ja11.14,1919.

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-G. G. GILPiN.

RELEASE RIGGING.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-17.1915.

Patented Jan, 14,1919.

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,{IBeit knownfthat I, GARTH a citizen. of Ethe, United States, residingj at Riv r id 'ffOfIIllinois,'havejinvented certain new and G. GILPIN,

in the county of Cook and State f useful" Improvements inRelease-Rigging,

1 which the following invention relates to apparatus for is aspecification.

drawing the lockingpins, or equivalent elei sortbeing commonly oruncoupling mechanisms.

7 provide certain devices whereby release rigcalled release riggingsOne. of the objects of the invention is to' provide a release riggingwhich will be sim-- 1n operation,v and ffew strongand durable partssothatthe -device' will roughv usage towhich everything connected .witha railway freight car .ple; in its construction, effective and positivewhich will consist of a.

be capable of withstanding the is subjected. Aifurther object of theinvention is to 'gings of'the chain type may be conveniently andeconomically reconstructed" so that a rigidlink, havmg connectionssufliciently' flex-ible with the operating rod of the uncouplingdevicepermit the free and -'with-. v the coupler to .usedin'a certain wellknown type of un- This type'of apparatus cons sts of a cranked rodrevolubly mounted on theend of the car, the crank of which is connectedby a chain and clevises to the locking pin of the coupler. The useofchains and clevises in this situation is obtheir use by the railroadsis being to a large As there are a great many railway cars equipped withthese apparatuses, it is desirable for economical reasons to utilize theold equipment so far as possible. My invention provides; means forjaccom 'ishing this reconstruction of the old apparatus at a minimumofcost for material and labor.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel form of bracketfor supporting the operating rod of an uncoupling de vice which permitsthe ready removal of the rod. therefrom without, however, disengagingthe movable part of the bracket from Specification of Letters Patent.

ments, of car couplers, apparatuses ofthis .not to be understood aslimited ,crank portion of the operating with the'casting secured theretofor maintaining the engagement'between the rod; and. the link whichconnects the locking pin of.

movements of the latter,-

may besubstituted for the chains heretofore coupling mechanism.

ing. V

Like characters .of reference designate like the drawings.

ST T PATENT chars GRIFFIN; GIL-PIN, or nrvnnsrnn, rLLIivoIs, .tjssmmaines P. ivi'uruaiiY,

- a or cnrcse rnmnorsq 1 Patented Jan. 14, 1919.

Application filed December 17, 1915. Serial No. 67,403.

- the fixed member thereof. .This arrange rying out the above statedobjects, and such.

other objects as will appear from the following description. Theinvention, however, is

to the exact construction and arrangement shown except so far as certainof the claims hereto appended are specifically so limited.

A The invention is illustrated, in 'certain' ing drawings in whichFigure 1 is a fragmentary view,'in perspective, of the end sillandcoupler of a railway car' with the uncoupling mecha nism of myinvention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side view of the preferred embodiments, in theaccompanythe coupler with the rod.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of theparts shown in Fig. 2.

Figs. 4 Md- 5 are link.

. .Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a preferred form of bracket ing rod.

Fig. '7- is a similar bracket opened so that the uncoupling rod may beremoved therefrom.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified construction ofthe supplemental casting on the end of the crank of the operating rod,and I Fig. 9 is a detail perspective of this cast- Referring first toFigs. 1 to 7 inclusive, 10 represents the end sill of the car, 11 thedeadwood and 12 the coupler, which latter parts in the several figuresof of the parts rod together for supporting the operatview showing theviews, in elevationpat right angles to each other, of the connecting maybe of any preferred type. The lockof a chain and clevises,

movements of the coupler in drawing,

pin of the coupler is shown at 13 and g 15 is the is formed with theusual eye 14:. operating rod. of the release rigging formed at one endwith a handle 16 and at the other with a crank 17. In the chain type ofuncoupling mechanism referred to above, the crank of the uncoupling rodis connecte to the locking pin of the coupler by means the end of thecrank being flattened, as shown at 18, and formed with a perforation 19for the bolt of the upper clevis. A clevis connection in a situation ofthis sort is objectionable because the nut on the bolt may easily belost. Furthermore, when the coupler is repaired the repair man replacingit on the car may forget to connect the clevis or may lose the boltwhich is taken out when the clevis is dis connected for the purpose ofremoving the coupler. The chain connection is particularly objectionablebecause it is likely to become kinked and thereby, in effect, shortened,with the result that the locking pin of the coupler is accidentallypulled by a normal outward movement of the coupler.

My invention utilizes, in place of the chain, a rigid link 20 formedpreferably with an open spirally formed hook 21 at its lower endengaging the eye 14: of the unlocking pin and with a closed loop 22through which the crank of the operating rod extends. To maintain theconnection between the crank and the link I provide a casting 23 formedwith stop shoulders 24 and with a slot 25. The casting is secured to theend of the crank by a rivet 26, or other suitable fastening means, whichextends through the perforation 19, in the crank formerly used for theupper clevis of the chain.

The arrangement shown in Figs. 8 and 9 is the same as that shown in thepreceding figures except that the casting 23 is provided with anotherpair of stop shoulders 27 1pn the other side of the loop 22 of the linIt will be seen that the link has consider able freedom of movement withrespect to the crank of the operating rod. It willslide freely up anddown to accommodate for the vertical movements of the coupler. It iscapable also of a certain amount of angular movement on the crank topermit the forward and backward movements of the coupler. The loop 22 isof a sufficient width so that the coupler is not impeded in its normallateral movements. However, the link is not, in the preferred form of myinvention, capable of axial rotation. For this reason it is possible touse an open hook for making the connection between the link and the eyeof the coupler pin without (lan ger that the parts will be disengagedbythe buff- The ing, or rounding curves, for instance.

connection is made quite safe if the hook be given the spiral shapeshown in the drawings.

The use of an open hook in this connection permits the disconnection ofthe link from the locking pin of the coupler when the coupler is to berepaired or replaced, provided, however, that the operating rod isremoved from its supports on the car.

These supports may consist of any ordinary brackets used in apparatus ofthis sort but I prefer to employ the special form of bracket shown inthe drawings. The center bracket, for example, consists of a strip ofmetal 28 bent so as to form an upper flange and a lower flange 30, thelatter formed preferably with an upturned lip 31; and of achannel-shaped closure piece 32 which fits within the flange 30, 31 ofthe bracket, and is provided with a shank 33 extending through anopening 34: in the upper flange 29. The upper end. of the shank isprefer-- ably bent over at 35 to form a. stop. The operating rod 15rests in the closure piece, as shown in Fig. 6, when the rod is in operative position. When the rod is to be removed it and the closure pieceare raised and the latter is turned to the {position shown in Fig.

The end bracket 36 may be identical in construction with the centerbracket just described. Preferably, however, it is provided with anangular 'stop flange 37 for the handle 16 of the operating rod.

When brackets of the sort above described are employed the rod may bedemounted from the car very expeditiously and without the removal of anyparts, such as bolts or cotters, which are likely to become lost. \Vhcnthe rod has been de-mounted the hook 21 can be disengaged from theeye ofthe locking pin. The link does not have to be removed from the operatingrod so that the release rigging, when taken from the car, can be handledas -a unit. If a. coupler is to be repaired it is, however, necessaryfor the repairman to demount the rod, since the shape of hook 21 ispreferably such that the link cannot be disengaged from the cou plerwith the rod on the car. -If the whole release rigging has to be takenfrom the car when the coupler is remoyed the chances are that it will beput back on the car when the coupler is replaced. A clevis connection isvery easily forgotten. If the hook at the lower end of the link wereformed so that it could be detached from its locking pin conditionsmight arise causing this disengagement accidentally. The apparatusemploys no clevises, bolts or devices of that sort. The connectionbetween the operating rod and the locking pin of the coupler consists ofa single rigid link having a perm:

nent engagement with the operating rod and a simple hook engagement withthe locking 7 .fThese engagements are suflicientlyiiexible'for"allfmovements of the coupler.

as long as the operating position there. can be no disengagement as abetween the umbupung rigging and the" flocking pin of the coup :At thesame timeflthey are positive so" that rod is in its, normal ler.

f l'It will be junder'stood that the locking pin nectlon between thelink and crank Finis d w r f will return to its normal as shown in Fig.8. If the drawattachmentsshould fail the: connection between theoperating rod and the locking pin is such that the latter will beautomatically withdrawn so as to uncouple the car. from the adjacent carof the train. I claim:

1. A release rigging comprising an operating rod revolubly supported onthe car andformed with a crank, a rigid link adaptlocking pin of itsupper end or engagement" with the the coupler and provided at with aloop through which'saidcrank pro-- ects, and a separately formedmembersecured to the crank-for maintaining. an operative engagement betweenthe link and crank. I Y

v2. A release rigging comprising an operating rod revolubly supported ona car and provided with a crank formed with an eye, a rigid link forconnecting the locking pin of the coupler with said crank, and a sepa=rately formed member secured to said crank through the eye providing ameans of com which permits verticaland angula1: movement of a the linkrelative to the crank.

- lower end for and angular 3. A release rigging. comprising.anoperating rod revolubly supported on the car and provided with a crankformed with an eye, a rigid link having an open-hook at its lower endfor engagement with the locking" pin of the coupler, and a separatelyfor-me member secured to said crank through said eye providin a means ofconnection between the link an crank which permits vertical movement ofthe link relative to the crank while preventing axial rotation thereof.

4. A release rigging comprising an operating rod revolubly supported onthe car and provided with a crank formed with an eye, a rigid linkhaving an openhook at its engagement with the pin of the coupler andformed at the upper end with a loop through which said crank extends,

and a separately formed member secured to said crank through the eye formaintaining an operative engagement between the crank and link.

5. A release ri ging comprising an operating rod revolu ly supported onthe car and provided with a crank formed with-an lower end forengagemcntgwith'th pm of the couplerv and-formed end with a loopthrougllf which cured to said crank 'formed withispaced on handle 16- ofthe opferati'ngfrod. When the pin is in lock-set jposition'the rod "pesn, bar of the coupler or its the coupler when one of spaced stop lookingeye, a. rigid link having an openahppk at jts electing aidc .nk extends,and a separately aformed memb v D shoulders on opposite sides'of saidloop. r 6. A release rigging comprising an operatln rod formed with acrank, supporting brac ets on the car having movable closurla elementsto. permit the removal of the rod from said brackets, a rigid linkhaving an open hook at its lower freely engageable with thelocking pinof tached from the car, and member secured to said crank providing aflexible operative connection between the link and crank.

7 A release rigging comprising an opers5 ating rod revolubly supportedon the car and formed with a crank, and a rigid link having a flexibleconnection with the looking pin of the coupler and provided at its Jupper end with a loop lying in a plane substantially at right angles tothe axis of the car and extending around the end of the crankandslidable longitudinally therein; said crank-being provided with meansfor. maintaining the loop of the ment therewith.

8. A release rigging comprising an operating rod ,revolubly supported onthe car and formed witha crank, and a rigid link having a flexibleconnection with the lock- -.ing pm of the coupler and dprovided at itsupper end with'a loop exten end of the crank and slidable thereon; saidcrank bein ng around the longitudinall site sides of said loop. 3

9'. A release rigging comprising an operating rod having a crank,-meansfor revolubly supporting the same on a ear, a link provided at one endwith an open hook adapted v1,10

for engagement with the-coupler loc separately formed member secured tothe crank, and means on said link wherebythe link is connected with saidmember so that it is non-revoluble about its longitudinal and .crank arein opaxis whensaid coupler erative pos tion.

10. A release rigging, an operating'rod having a crank, means forrevolubly supporting the same on'a car, a link at one end with an openhook adapted for engagement with the coupler lock and at the other endwith a loop, and a separately-Z formed member secured to'said crankwhich extends loosely through said loop and is pro- .125.

vided at its outer end with a stop to-prevent the loop from becomingdisengaged therefrom.

. ,11. A release rigging comprising an operating rod having a crank,means for revolu v end adapted'to be said elements is de.,, 80 aseparately formed link in. engage- 95 ion provided wit shoulders whicstand on"'opp0-- 1ot provided 1'20 i bly supporting the same on a car,a'link proloop, and a separately formed memloer sevided at one end withan open hook adapted cured to said crank which extends through forengagement with the coupler lock and at said loop and is provided at itsouter end the other end with an elongated loop, and with a pair of stopson opposite sides of said 5 means for preventing axial rotation of saidloop.

link comprising a separately formed mem- 13. A release riggingcomprising an operber secured to said crank which extends ating rodrevolubly supported on the car through said loop and is provided at itsand formed with a cranlnari 'd link adaptouter end with a pair of stopson opposite ed for engagement with the locking pin of 10 sides of saidloop. the coupler and provided at its upper end 12. A release riggingcomprising an operwith a loop through which said crank proating rodhaving a crank, means for revolujeets, and .a separately formed membersebly supporting the same on a car, a link procured to the crank, havingspaced stop shoulvided at one end with means for engaging der on oposite sides of said loop.

15 a coupler lock and at the other end with a GARTH GRIFFITH GILPIN.

